This year’s election may go down as one of the most controversial presidential races in history. In a competition between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump, the polls were predominantly tied in swing states and national polls, leading to rampant uncertainty around who would emerge victorious. Now that we know that Donald Trump won the election by more than many people thought probable, let’s look back to the beginning of this year and see how we got here.

January

With Joe Biden having announced his campaign for reelection in 2023, he was widely recognized as the Democratic candidate for the 2024 election. In January, the main conflict was shaping up to be the Republican Primary, with Former President Donald Trump leading in the polls, and Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley following behind in most states. President Trump’s heavy lead influenced many republican presidential candidates to suspend their campaigns, including Florida Governor, Ron DeSantist, dropping out of the race on January 21st. On January 26, a Jury ordered presidential candidate Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carrol an additional $83 million dollars in damages after Carrol changed her original sexual assault lawsuit against the former president to include comments he made after the original court verdict in May 2023. 

February

Another relatively prominent candidate in this year’s race was Robert F Kennedy Jr, with commercials during Super Bowl LVIII supporting RFK, causing conflict with the Kennedy family. Robert Kennedy remained prominent in the media, speaking at a convention held by the Libertarian Party of California, fueling speculation that he would be endorsed by, and run in, the Libertarian Party. Circuit Judge Tracy Porter of Cook County, Illinois declared Trump ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot, but the decision was paused pending the likelihood of an appeal.

March

On March 4, The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in court case Trump v. Anderson that efforts to remove Trump from the ballot in the states of Colorado, Illinois, and Maine were unconstitutional, overturning Tracy Porter’s ruling in Illinois. Two days later, Nikki Haley suspended her campaign for president after a poor performance on Super Tuesday, solidifying Trump as the Republican presidential candidate. Biden delivered the State of the Union Address the following day. Towards the end of the month Kennedy announced attorney and technologist Nicole Shanaha as his running mate during an event in Oakland California, although the election was still shaping up to be a two party race, with Biden and Trump winning their state primaries.

April

April marked the beginning of the criminal trial New York v. Donald Trump on the fifteenth and Trump v. United States on the twenty fifth. Biden and Trump continued their campaigns with each winning their party’s primaries in the key state of Pennsylvania. In addition, Antony J. Blinken, the Secretary of State, noted that the government had evidence of China attempting to influence the 2024 election.

May

On May 15, CNN announced it would be hosting the first Presidential Debate between Biden and Trump on June 27 with ABC hosting another on September 10. Even more important, history was made on May 30, when former President Trump was declared guilty on all 24 counts in his New York Trial. This conviction made him the first president to be convicted of a felony with crimes, including, but not limited to, falsifying business records to hide payments he made to Stormy Daniels to conceal their relations.

June

June triggered the rapid change in the Democratic Party’s view of President Biden. The Presidential Debate between Biden and Trump took place in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27th. After Biden’s poor performance, Democrats were weary about his ability to serve another term, urging him to suspend his campaign. He appeared drastically older than Trump during the debate, stuttering and losing his train of thought.

July

July was a busy month in the political world. The United States Supreme Court delivered a 6-3 decision on the case of Trump v. United States, granting Trump immunity for the crimes he committed as president. In a rally in Butler Pennsylvania, Trump was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt on July 13. A bystander and the shooter were killed, and two other bystanders were injured. Only a few days later the Republican National Convention began and Trump announced his Vice Presidential running mate, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance. On the Democratic side, many U.S. representatives continued to urge Biden to drop out of the race, including former speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, as well as Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumar. On the 21st, Biden announced his withdrawal from the race on X, formerly known as Twitter, after weeks of pressure from leaders within the Democratic Party. Amid a scramble for a Democratic nomination, Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president the same day. She received a cascade of funds from supporters, breaking fundraising records, with a total of $81 million dollars raised in 24 hours. Many prominent democratic leaders endorsed the Vice President in the coming days, including Former President Barack Obama and Former First Lady Michelle Obama. Amid what looked like a Democratic Party rally, Donald Trump appeared at a convention of the National Association of Black Journalists performing very poorly and making many racist comments.

August

Kamala Harris continued her rapid campaign, confirmed as the Democratic Presidential nominee on August 5, and announcing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her Vice Presidential running mate a day later. Following the announcement, the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago, Illinois on August 19 with speakers and guests rallying around Harris and Walz. Whilst garnering support for two other candidates, Robert F. Kennedy announced he was suspending his campaign on the 23rd, endorsing Trump.

September

On September 10, the first and only debate occurred between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Introducing new procedures, candidates were fact-checked live, including many statements from Trump, such as a conspiracy theory about immigrants eating pets in Ohio, which was proven false. As a result, Harris was widely acknowledged as the winner of the debate, and later that night, pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Harris in a X (formerly known as Twitter) post. During a round of golf, there was a second potential assassination attempt of former President Trump at Trump International Golf Club in Florida on September 10. Trump was not shot, and was evacuated by the Secret Service. Around the same time, while many early voting opportunities were still in place, the first day early voting was possible in many states as early as the 26th, such as Minnesota and Oklahoma. 

October

To start the month, the Vice Presidential Debate was hosted by CBS and took place between Tim Walz and JD Vance. Both candidates were analyzed to have made mistakes. Vance often did not directly answer questions, and Tim Walz seemed nervous and unpolished at times. Trump held one of his last rallies at Madison Square Garden where Comedian Tony Hinchfliffe described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage”, receiving significant backlash from members of the Democratic and Republican parties. Trump quickly held another rally in which he stated “I want to protect the women or our country… I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not.” He continued to explain he used the remark even though his advisors told him it would likely be considered inappropriate. In even more controversy, on the 31st, Arizona prosecutors opened an investigation into Trump’s comments about Liz Cheney, former U.S. Representative, disputing if they could be considered death threats.

November

This year’s inimitable presidential race came to a close on Election Day as a total of around 156 million Americans voted, slightly less than the 158 million that showed up to polls in 2020. The results were quickly released, and Trump was named 47th president of the United States. The Republican party won by a large margin, flipping all six swing states from the previous blue in the 2020 election to red in 2024. This ‘red wave’ was present all across the country as Republicans also gained control of the Senate.

Looking Forward

Without a doubt, this election was pivotal in our country’s history, and the surprising result, for many, created fear and uncertainty for the future. Although Trump’s victory represents the comeback of a politician who was charged with “plotting to overturn the last election,” Trump was able to tap into America’s fear and dissatisfaction. For almost half the nation, the results of this election represent huge steps backward on issues around abortion, climate change, and LGBTQ rights. For those who voted for him, Trump was able to encapsulate voters with promises of lower prices and taxes, stricter immigration policies, and promises of a better future for our country. People chose to look past his criminal convictions and scandals in voting for him  as president. What does this mean for our country’s future? Only time will tell.